MacGillivray Freeman's extraordinary giant-screen adventure The Alps about Europe's greatest mountain range and one man's quest to climb the infamous North Face of the Eiger opens Friday, January 11, in Phipps IMAX Theater at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
The Alps follows a stirring human story that unfolds amid some of nature's most awe-inspiring scenery. At the heart of the film is John Harlin III's climb of the storied North Face of the Eiger. Harlin has been haunted by the Eiger since childhood when his father, famed alpinist John Harlin II, fell to his death as he neared the summit of the North Face. "Against a backdrop of overwhelming natural beauty, The Alps is a true-life story of extraordinary courage," says director Stephen Judson. "It's the intensely personal journey of a man, John Harlin, who has every reason not to climb the deadly Eiger North Face—yet climb it he must."
Harlin will make two appearances at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science in conjunction with the film opening. A members only reception and screening will be held on Thursday, January 10, at 7:00 p.m. A public reception and screening will be held on Friday, January 11, at 7:00 p.m. Tickets ($15 member, $18 nonmember) for both events can be purchased at 303-322-7009. Harlin is the author of The Eiger Obsession: Facing The Mountain That Killed My Father (Simon & Schuster, 2007), which will be available for sale and signings at the Museum events.
The Eiger is one of the world's most celebrated peaks but also is notorious among climbers for its deadly avalanches and showers of falling rock. At the time of his death 40 years ago, John Harlin II was a rising media star and considered one of America's best mountaineers. He was set on pioneering a bold new route straight up the Eiger's 6,000-foot face. At 4,000 feet, approaching the summit, Harlin's rope broke. In The Alps, his son faces his own inner demons and honors his father's memory on a climb that is about so much more than physical achievement. For Harlin, the expedition is about following in his father's footsteps to explore why his father came to love the Alps and its culture, people and endless ways of inspiring the human imagination. Accompanying him are his German climbing partners, climbing stars Robert and Daniela Jasper.
"The grandeur of The Alps makes for an incredible match-up with the visual spectacle of IMAX theater photography," said producer Greg MacGillivray. "It is such an enticing location, filled with history and human accomplishments. More than that, though, our film is a human story about facing one's fears and about family and family legacies. People will come away inspired by John Harlin's emotional quest to reconnect with his father who died on the fabled Eiger."
The making of The Alps was a vastly ambitious undertaking that involved a team made up of climbing luminaries, hardy mountain guides and award-winning nature cinematographers. Featuring some of the most spectacular giant screen imagery ever seen—captured by intrepid helicopter and mountaineering crews—the film celebrates both the unsurpassed beauty of the Alps and the indomitable spirit of the people who live, climb and explore there. Adding to the immediacy and visual excitement of the film is the aerial camera work of Ron Goodman, inventor and operator of the aerial photography system known as the Spacecam, which proved invaluable in obtaining unprecedented shots of climbers in action on the North Face.
Though the production was filled with uncertainties, ranging from how the weather might shift to whether Harlin and the Jaspers would ultimately make it to the summit, the story could not have been captured any other way.
"The Eiger held a part of my soul captive for 40 years, and with this trip I was able to set myself free," said Harlin of his achievement. "I always felt I had to do this climb, and yet the thing that I really came back with is that it's my family that is the most important thing to me. Having climbed the Eiger North Face, I can now revel in spending time with my family more than ever."
"The risk factor was high, but the results speak for themselves," said Judson. "It will be amazing for audiences to have the chance to get so close to climbers on the Eiger North Face. Like the best experiences, it was intense but so rewarding." -- www.dmns.org
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